Freight-car door



L s. PRATT E'r AL FREIGHT CAR DOOR` 19%. 2 Sheets-Sheefit 1 Filed Mapch 31 w a zu w W W. W A W) w w w La P.....|.HMH.@ w. To MW Nbv,11{1924 1923 v2 Shane-snem 2 Llvs. PRATT E'r A1.

FREIGHT CAR DOOR Filed march' 81 Patented Nov. 11, 1924.

onrrso s'rarss isiaszi rarsnr LUCIUS S. PRA''T AND O'LIVER A. WALLACE, OF WILMINGTONNORTH CAROLINA.

FREIGHT-CAR DOOR.

Application filed March 31, 1923. Serial No. 629,148.

'0 all who'm, t may con/367m:

Be it known vthat we, LUciUs S. PRATT and OLivER A. VVALLAon, citizens of the nited States of America, vand residents of Wilvmington, North Carolina, have invented new and 'useful Improvements in Freight-Car Doors, which invention is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to freight-car doors, and particularly to va-car door which may be used either as a ventilating door, or as a closed door that will be proof against the elements.

It'has heretofore been proposed to provide a wooden ventilating freight-car door fitted with vertically disposed wooden slats that could 'be moved vtoopen or closed position, as

desired. This type of door` is not only expensive to manufacture but is not durable since after-'a short period of use the wooden slats become warped. Moreover, no means were provided for looking the slats ,in open or closed position. It is common practice, at present, to provide freight-cars with two ventilated and two solid doors in order that the car vmay be properly ventilated. VVhen ventilated doors are yin place, or when not desired as ventilated car, the-solid doors are used at door opening.

An object ofithis'invention -is to provide freight-car combination door, preferably formed entirely of metal, 'that may be used either as a ventilating door or as a closed door that will be proof against'the elements 'and jpilfering, there'by effectively reducing the great cost incident to the use of two kinds of doors.

Another-object of this `invention is to provide a vrug'ged door of such construction that the same may be quickly and economi- Wtilating slats mounted to bezturned to open or closed position on pintles, which pintles are secured'in'their proper position through the medium of the stiffening means above referred to.

Referring to the drawings, vwherein like reference numerals refer v'to like .parts thro'ughout vthe several views,

Fig'. l is aside elevation of zone -embodiment of the inventive idea, a portion zof the same being` .broken away and .certain :parts removed in the interest ofclearness,

Fig. 2 is an enlarg'ed .broken vhorizontal section on line 2-2,of Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is a Vertical sectional view through the .door illustrating .the slats in closed position, a portion of the same being broken away,

Fig. 4- isa detail view .similargto Fig. ,3 illustrating the slats .in open position,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to .Figw illus- .tratingone manner in which the slatsof the combination door may be .formed,

Fig. 6 .is a horlzontal sectional viewl .similar to Fig. 2 illustratingasecond man- Vner in which the improved door may beconstructed, and, v

Fig. 7 is a detail front lelevation of .one corner of .the doorconstructed .in accordance with the arrangement illustrated in Fig. ;6.

Referring to Figs. 1 to Ai, inclusive, 1 `is a metal vplate vof any suitable thickness Vhaving formed therein a plurality .of openings ;2. While any number of'o-penings may beprovided in plate 1, the same ;are preferably arranged in two Vertical series, eachseries comprising a plurality of alignedopenings. As clearly indicated in Figs. :3 and 4, openings 2 may be provided with flanges 3 which, instead of being normal .to .the surface yof the plate are inclined at a smallangle downwardly therefrom. ln order to increase the rigidity of plate 1 vertically extending ribs d and horizontally extending ribs 5 maybe formed therein, and the periphery of said plate may be bent or pressed to form anoutwardly extending` fiange 6. `While plate 1 is preferably formed from a vsingle metal sheet it will be apparent-to one skilled in the art that the same may be made up of a plurality of sheets suitably fastened together.

Seoured to the outer face of plate 1 lin any suitable manner, as by means of bolts 7, is a stiffening or face plate :8 having a pair of openings 9 therein, each one-of openings 9 being adapted to register With one series of openings in inner plate 1. .Preferably face 'plate 8 is provided adjacentthe 'lower edges ,of openings 9 with inwardly projecting Z-po-rtions 10, the inner ends of which engage plate 1. The upper edges of openings 9v are preferably formed as indicated in Fig. 3 with an inwardly extending portion engaging plate 1, and an outwardly hending portion in the form of an L-shaped flange 11. Face plate 8 is bent inwardly along the Vertical sides of openings 9 in such a manner as to form inwardly extending fianges 12 which bear against the outer face of plate 1. Preferably the upper and lower edges of face plate 8 are provided with L-shaped fianges 13 which telescopically engage the outwardly turned flange 6 of plate 1. The vertically extending portions of said L-shaped fianges 13 provide tongues to engage guide ways (not shown) on the freight-car proper, along which the door is adapted to slide. In order to facilitate this movement of the door the same is provided With the usual or any desired type of hangers 141 and rollers 15 adjacent the upper edge thereof. If desired, a filler blo-ck 16 of any suitable material may be interposed between inner plate 1 and face plate 8 at the points where hangers 111 are secured to the door, to insure against buckling of the plates at these points.

F ormed in the inwardly extending fianges 12 of face plate 8 are a plurality of pairs of notches or slots 17 for receiving pintles 18 of a plurality of slats 19, said pintles being secured to the opposite ends of said slats approximately midway of the end edges of the latter. Slats 19 are thus piv- .otally mounted in outer plate 8 adjacent each opening 2 in inner plate 1. Preferably the upper longitudinal edge of each of said slats is bent outwardly at an angle as indicated at 20 while the lower longitudinal edge of the slat is bent inwardly at an angle as indicated at 21 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. If desired, however, the upper longitudnal edge of each of said slats may be bent substantially at right angles as indicated at 22, Fig. 5.

Secured to face plate 8 centrally over the openings therein are brackets 23 having formed in the outwardly extending portions thereof a substantially Vertical slot 2a which is adapted to receive a pin 25 secured to the upper end of a vertically disposed operating rod 26. Preferably rod 26 is a U or channel shaped bar having formed on the inner edges thereof pairs of ears 27 into the openings of which are litted pins 28 that engage slots 29 formed at an angle to said rod in brackets'30 which are secured to the outer faces of slats 19. In Vertical alignment with upper brackets 23 and slightly below the lower edge of openings 9 are a pair of brackets 31 having formed in lthe outwardly projecting portions thereof a pair of vertically aligned openings 32 which are adapted to register With a similar opening in rod 26. A hinge-pin 38 secured to rod 26 by means of a chain 34, may be employed for looking rod 26 in upper or lower position as desired. Any other suitable looking means may be provided for securing rod 26 in adjusted position.

It is particularly pointed out that the construction described hereinbefore is such as to greatly facilitate assembling of the parts. Outer plate 8 may be placed face downwardly and pintles 18, secured to slats 19, engaged in slots 17. Inner plate 1 may then readily be placed in position relative to outer plate 8 and the parts bolted together, the bolts 7 being so positioned that the nuts therefor are disposed in the strengthening ribs formed in plate 1 and do not project beyond the inner surface of the door. The various fianges and ribs in plates 1 and 8 may be pressed therein if desired.

`When the combination door is to be used as a ventilating door it is only necessary to. withdraw pin and force rod 26 upwardly, the cam-action of slots 29 serving to tilt slats 19 about pintles 18 to the position shown in Fig. 4. lVhen in full open position the inner ends of the slats bear against plate 1 While the outer ends rest against rod 26 thereby preventing rattling and wear of the parts. lVhen slats 19 are moved to closed position as indicated in Fig. 3, the inwardly and outwardly bent ends of the same engage one With the other in such a manner as to form a perfectly closed door which will protect the contents of the car from the elements.

Another form of the inventive idea is shown in Figs. 6 and 7 wherein a flat inner plate 1', having formed therein a plurality of openings 2' arranged in a manner similar to that described above, is provided as the inner' member of the door. Riveted to the periphery of plate 1' are Z-bars 35 having secured to the outer face thereof horizontally and Vertically disposed plates 36 which form a structure corresponding to that of face plate 8. Secured to the inner face of plates 36 are L-shaped bars 37, the inner leg of the latter being in engagement with the outer' face of plate 1' and having formed therein slots 17 to receive the pintles 18 of slats 19. Strips 38 are secured in any suitable manner to plate 1' in such a position as to engage the inwardly extending legs of the L-bars 37 and to serve as bearing members for pintles 18. The remainder of the construction is similar to that described in the preferred form of the invention,

VVe have thus provided a light, rigid door lending itself to ready assembly of the parts and which therefore may be constructed at a minimum cost for labor, and one which may be used either as a closed or as a ventilating door as occasion may require, thereb'y doing away with a plurality of doors heretofore employed.

One form of the inventive idea lends itself readily to rapid manufacture, in plants where plate pressing facilities are available, while the other form lends itself With equal facility to construction in shops Where means Jfor pressing plates are not available.

While two forms of the inventive idea have been specifically described herein and illnstrated in the accompanying dravrings it is to be distinctly understood the drawings are for purposes of illustration only and are not designed as a definition of the limit-s of the invention, reference being had to the api pended claims for this purpose.

That We claim is 1. A freight-car door comprising a plate having a plurality of openings therein, stifiening means secured to said plate, a plurality of slats pivoted in said stif'fening means and means for turning said slats on their pivots, and into engagement with said plate to uncover said openings.

A freight-car door co-mprising a plate having one or more series of openings therein, stiffening means secured to said plate, a plurality of slats pivoted in said stiifening means, and means slidably secured to said stii'fening means for moving said slats to cover and uncover said openings, adjacent slats being maintained at all times in overlapping relation.

3. A freight-car door comprising an inner plate having a series of openings therein, a stiffening plate secured to said inner plate having 'an opening therein in register with' said series of openings, a plurality of slats pivoted in said stifi'ening plate, and means engaging said slats to turn them on their pivots.

4. A freight-car door comprising an inner plate having a series of openings therein, a stiffening plate secured to said innei'plate having an opening therein in register With said series of openings, a plnralit)v of slats having their upper edges bent outwardly and their lower edges bent inwardly pivoted in said stiifening plate, and means engaging said slats to turn them on their pivots to over or uncover said series of openings.

5. A metal freight-car door comprising an inner plate having one or more series of openings therein, a stiffening plate having one or more openings therein secured to said inner plate, each opening in said stiffening plate being in register with a series of openings in said inner plate, a plurality of slats pivoted in said stifliening plate, and means for turning said slats on their p'ivots to cover or uncover the opening in said inner plate, the movement of said slats touncover said openings being limited by engagement of the slats With said means.

G. A metal-freight car door comprising an inner plate having a series of openings therein, a stifi'ening plate having an opening therein in register With said series of openings secured to said inner plate7 a plurality of slats pivoted in said stiffening plate, a plurality of braclrets having slots therein secured to said slats, and means engaging said brac-kets for turning said slats on their pivots.

7. A freight-car door comprising an inner metal plate having a plurality of fianged openings therein and an outvvardly pro'ecting flange around the periphery thereo an outer stiflfening plate secured to said inner plate having openings t-herein, and an in- Wardly extending fiange adapted to telescopically engage the flange of said inner plate, a plurality of slats pivotally secured to said outer plate, the upper edges of said slats being bent outwardly and the lower edges of the same being bent inwardly, and means for moving said slats to cover said openings, the upper edge of each intermediate slat being adapted to enga'ge the lower edge of the next adj acent slat When the same are moved to covering position.

8. A. freight-car door comprising, in combination, a plate having one or more openings therein, stiffening means secured to said plate, a plurality of overlapping slats secured to said stifi'ening means for closing said openings, and means for moving said slats to uncover said openings and for preventing movement of the same to non-lapping position.

9. A freight-car door comprising a plate having a plurality of openings therein, stiffening means secured to said plate, a plnrality of slats pivoted in said stiffening means With one edge portion of each slat engaging said plate When in open position, and means for turning said slats on their pivots.

In testimony whereof we have signed this specification.

LUCIUS S. PR-ATT. O'LIVER A. WALLACE. 

